This invention relates generally to mouthguards, or mouth protectors. More specifically, it relates to a new and improved mouthguard that has a body whose shape corresponds generally to that of the upper and lower arches but which contains impression, or formfit, material that serves to fully conform to the actual impressions of the upper and lower arches.
One of the common uses of mouthguards is in contact sports activity where a participant may be subject to impacts that could at times be sufficiently severe to loosen or even dislodge one or more teeth. In some activities, the use of mouthguards is mandated while in others, it is optional. While mouthguards are considered useful in protecting teeth, the use of any particular mouthguard is not a guarantee that injury will be avoided in all cases.
There are different varieties of mouthguards that are presently available on the commercial market. In general, they are mass produced and come in a limited number of size ranges, often containing instructions for cutting a manufactured size to a shape to more closely fit a particular individual. As such, these mouthguards are not manufactured to conform to the actual teeth impressions of any particular individual.
One type of such commercial mouthguards comprises the use of a material which can be more or less softened by immersion in hot water. When the softened mouthguard is then placed in the mouth and the individual bites onto it, a limited impression of the occlusal surfaces of the teeth of the respective arches may result. In other words, it is only the occlusal surfaces of the mouthguard that provide any conformance at all to the teeth of the arch and conformance of lingual and buccal surface of the mouthguard to the lingual buccal and interproximal regions of the teeth is not achieved. It is recognized that this type of mouthguard fails to provide as great a degree of protection as a custom-fitted mouthguard, but it is fairly inexpensive and can provide some benefit.
A custom-fitted mouthguard is available usually only through a dentist, who takes actual full impressions of the upper and lower arches. The mouthguard is then fabricated by usual procedures from these impressions. While this mouthguard provides a fuller degree of protection, it is considerably more expensive than the mouthguards that are typically mass produced and sold commercially in athletic stores, variety stores and the like.
The present invention is directed to a new and improved mouthguard which is suited for mass production, yet can provide a greater degree of conformance to individual teeth of the arches including not only the occusal surfaces, but the lingual surfaces, buccal surfaces and interproximal regions as well. As such, the invention provides an edge guard which can be manufactured at reasonable cost so as to be mass produced and marketed in athletic stores, variety stores and the like, yet which can provide many of the benefits that are attainable with much more expensive custom-made mouthguards.
Briefly, the invention in its presently preferred embodiment comprises a one-piece body that has a shape that corresponds generally to the upper and lower arches but contains upper and lower liners of impression material that is adapted, when placed in the user's mouth, to more closely conform to actual impressions of the teeth of the arches such that the arches, including occlusal, lingual, buccal surfaces, and interproximal regions, are provided with an improved degree of protection. With the selection of suitable impression materials, arch conformance can be achieved at normal body temperatures so that procedures such as the soaking of the mouthguard in hot water beforehand are unnecessary. Moreover, by attention to particular details in the relative proportions of the accommodations in the one piece mouthguard body for the impression material, and the selection and arrangement of the impression material in these accommodations, teeth of the arch can be protected not only just along the occlusal surfaces but along significant portions of the lingual and buccal surfaces of the teeth including the interproximal regions, even to the gingiva.
The impression material is intended to be permanently joined to the mouthguard body by means of mechanical and/or chemical bonding and certain aspects of the invention relate to the manner of such joining. Hence, many of the benefits of a custom mouthguard can be provided in a relatively low cost, mass-produced mouthguard, in accordance with the invention.
A still further feature of the invention is that the basic mouth guard body contains lingual/buccal ducts that provide for fluid communication between lingual and buccal regions of the mouth. This is important when the mouthguard is in use because such ducts can facilitate flow of air and/or saliva.
In addition to details of the preferred embodiment of mouthguard which will be illustrated in the drawings, there will also be described certain details of the methods for making and using the mouthguards.
The foregoing features, advantages and benefits of the invention, along with additional ones will be seen in the ensuing description and claims which should be considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The drawings disclose a presently preferred embodiment of mouthguard according to the best mode contemplated at the present time in carrying out the invention as to details of the mouthguard itself, its method of manufacture, and its use.